Orange Pop: Chase Long Beach hits the road

It's been an incredibly busy year for ska-punk act Chase Long Beach. After nearly seven years together, the group signed to indie label Victory Records in February, put out its second full-length album, "Gravity Is What You Make It," in June – and just headed out on a two-month U.S. tour.

In between all of that chaos, the band also scored premium gigs at Chain Reaction and House of Blues Anaheim. Yet, though lately the outfit has been enjoying the comforts of local gigs in its hometown as well as stints in O.C. and scattered L.A. dates, vocalist Karen Roberts says she and the group is amped to be heading across the country.

"It's always exciting," she says. "We've been out a few times, and every time we do, we learn things that we weren't prepared for. Like not to drive 75 mph when it's snowing. That sort of thing is important."

Chase Long Beach packed up all of its equipment – horns included – and piled all seven members into a van, skipping town on Oct. 16. Roberts says they have a short break around Thanksgiving and will be back by Christmas. But the homecoming rest will be short, as Roberts says the band is working on something special with Reel Big Fish for December and planning out its fourth overseas tour for early next year.

The band can breathe a little easier on the open road now that it has label representation. Roberts admits it was both exciting and nervewracking for this group of early twentysomethings to sign itself away in a contract, but she says they feel more legit because of it.

"We were prepared for just about everything, but with being so young and signing the contracts, we had a lawyer go over it. Of course, we didn't get everything we wanted, but no deal is perfect. Overall, it's been a great experience for us, and it's cool to have the backing and to see our name on posters."

Chase Long Beach has come a long way since its inception. At its core the only remaining original members are Roberts and bassist Patrick Fitzgerald, who met at a Long Beach youth center while they were in high school. Over the years Roberts says the band has gone through an astonishing 27 members – most of whom, she explains, were "flaky high-school horn players."

The group's name came from Roberts love of (and possible obsession with) designer Chayse Dacoda from the TLC home design show "While You Were Out."

"I used to love that show, and her. I knew I wanted Chase in the name, and one day when we were driving into Long Beach from Fountain Valley we saw the big 'Welcome to Long Beach' sign and it was like, duh, we grew up here – so it makes sense."

The current lineup has been together for about a year, yet is more dedicated than ever. Although the seven members are scattered throughout Southern California – with only three living near the group's studio in Long Beach – Roberts says they stick to a regular rehearsing schedule, typically practicing every Tuesday or Thursday to freshen up old material and work on something new.

Songwriting in the band is shared by each player – everyone brings his or her own parts to the table before Roberts adds lyrics that she says are typically fun, though lately she has taken to more serious issues.

"When people go to a ska show they wanna dance around and have fun, and some of the lyrics can be a little cheesy," she says. "But I've tried to write about real things that happen to me and things people our age are going through. We even wrote a song about suicide – but people don't really know it's about suicide because it's ska music, so they're still dancing."

In 2007 the band released "Lebec," its full-length debut, produced by Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett, who also plays guitar on a track from the group's new effort. The septet was thrilled when Barrett signed on, but Roberts says she was nervous to work with the guy she calls "the Skafather."

"Aaron is such a great guy. Our first day in the studio we were worried he wasn't going to show up, and when he did, I have to admit, it scared the (heck) out of me a little bit. Once we started to record, I was fine. He really knows what' he's doing and it was good for us to work with someone with that sort of experience."

Since the group has enough members to essentially be a sports team, we had to ask: Does the band have a unifying philosophy?

"It used to be 'Chase Long Beach is nothing to (expletive) with.' I don't think you can print that.

"We just joke around and like to have a good time. We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we have pride when we play and in the music."